


Dreams of You

by blake_is_strange



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Camping, F/F, Mutual Pining, Soulmates, request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-05
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:55:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24559534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blake_is_strange/pseuds/blake_is_strange
Summary: Max finds her soulmate, but Victoria is hesitant. Luckily, their friends like camping.
Relationships: Kate Marsh/Chloe Price, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Victoria Chase
Comments: 15
Kudos: 137





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've never written a soulmate au and I haven't read very many either, but I figured I'd try it out! I don't have anything in the lore for it, really, it was just something I thought of when I got the request from @kgoodbye on Tumblr. Thanks for the request, thank you to my girlfriend for editing this and I hope you all enjoy!

Max’s POV

_ It’s dark, quiet. I feel like I’m floating in warm, soothing water. I try to open my eyes, but I can’t. It’s so quiet that it almost makes my ears hurt. And then I feel something. A deep stirring in my chest, a nervous drop in my stomach like I’m going down a rollercoaster.  _

_ “Hello?” I manage to say, my voice feeling tight and underused, almost like I haven’t spoken in a long time. But I know I’m dreaming. I know I’m lying in bed at home, with Chloe in the next room with Kate laying beside her and Alice is in her little hutch in our backyard. But I feel like I’m somewhere else.  _

_ Not entirely new but not entirely familiar, either.  _

_ “Hello?” I call a bit more clearly, my voice sounding more normal the more I speak. “M-my name is Max,” I say as I try to reach out to the energy I can feel with me. There’s fear, anger.  _

_ “Why should I care?” A woman’s voice asks and my heart skips. My soulmate is a woman?  _

_ “B-because we’re soulmates,” I say softly, feeling a bit hurt by the harshness in the woman’s voice.  _

_ “I don’t need a soulmate. I have better things to do with my time than be someone else’s crutch,” she says and I can almost feel her crossing her arms over her chest even though there’s nothing in the darkness to see.  _

_ “I… I don’t need a crutch,” I say gently, trying to reach out again. But the woman seems defensive, like she truly doesn’t want to be here. “I’m sorry. I know this is sudden. I didn’t know when it would happen.”  _

_ “No one does, it’s always random,” she says matter of factly, like I’m an idiot or something. I furrow my brow and try to fill myself with some kind of confidence. This is not how I thought this would happen.  _

_ “I know this is a lot. But I… I’m not going to make you do anything you don’t want to do. I’m just as shocked as you are,” I explain, feeling a little deflated over all this. How am I supposed to find my soulmate if she doesn’t even want to be with me? I know that not all people search for their soulmate, it’s something that takes time and effort and sometimes it doesn’t work. But then there are people like Kate and Chloe who find each other in their senior year of high school and have been inseparable since. I have a feeling that my experience here won’t be as easy.  _

_ There’s a sigh and the energy of the woman seems to slacken and relax a little. Not a lot, just a little.  _

_ “Whatever, ok? Just… don’t expect anything super crazy and romantic. I don’t need this right now,” she says firmly and I deflate even more. I want to ask why, I want to ask this woman why she seems so against not just being in our dream space, but why she seems so reluctant to even talk to me.  _

_ “Ok.” Is all I can say.  _

I wake up slowly after that, my chest aching as I stare at my ceiling. This isn’t going to be easy. 

  
  


“What do you mean she turned you down?” Chloe asks as she eats another spoonful of cereal. I stir my last few frosted flakes, watching them float limply in the milk at the bottom of the bowl. 

“She basically said that she doesn’t have time for this soulmate stuff,” I explain weakly. It’s been nearly three days since then and I haven’t seen her in my dreams since. Part of me wonders if she somehow dislikes me enough to un-soulmate us. The thought makes my heart hurt, but I push it down. I can’t let her ruin my day. Or my week, I guess. 

But it’s all I can think about. Her voice was so pretty, even if it was sharp and angry and her energy was so different than anything I’ve ever felt before. 

“How can she turn you down, you’re meant to be together,” Chloe says bluntly and I sigh, shaking my head as I lean back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest. 

“How do we even know that for sure? What if whoever or whatever decides this stuff made a mistake?” I ask quietly, not sure how much more of this my heart can take. It hurts to think that my person doesn’t want me. Doesn’t even want to try and meet me. 

“Don’t let Kate hear you say that,” Chloe says somewhat jokingly. “She’s really firm on that kind of thing. Just try and get back to your dream space tonight and see if she’s there. Try being cool and confident instead of all mousey.”

“Oh yeah, easy enough,” I scoff softly, looking at the TV as it plays the Saturday morning cartoons that we always watch. They don’t bring much comfort today, though. 

But maybe Chloe is right. If I just try to be confident instead of all wimpy, maybe my soulmate will actually give me the time of day. 

  
  


_ When I become aware of the dream space, it feels like coming home. Even though I know my soulmate doesn’t want to be with me, this place feels… safe. Warm and quiet and soft. And then her energy comes into the space and my heart races.  _

_ “Hi,” I say gently. I know she feels me here, there’s no way to not.  _

_ “Hey. I… I’m sorry about before,” she says softly and I’m taken aback for a moment. “I was angry and tired and hadn’t slept in a while so I was a bit touchy. Can we maybe start over?” _

_ “Sure,” I say without hesitation. I can’t help how my entire being seems to want to melt to whatever this person wants. It’s like I’m already whipped or something.  _

_ “My name is Victoria,” she says softly, but her energy is still far away, like I’m standing on one side of a room and she’s on the other.  _

_ “Victoria,” I say softly, a smile tugging at my lips. “That’s a really pretty name.”  _

_ “Thanks,” she says a bit curtly and I can feel her crossing her arms over her chest. “Why don’t you go by Maxine? Isn’t that what Max is short for?” _

_ “Because it makes me sound like a ninety-year-old cat lady,” I joke, getting a surprised laugh in return that makes my stomach fill to bursting with excited butterflies. “Plus, it’s not as regal as Victoria. You sound like a fancy English monarch.”  _

_ “I’m not,” she says with a small laugh and I smile even more. “My parents are just those types of people, you know?”  _

_ “Yeah. My parents are more like the ‘facetime me every night before bed so they can tell me they love me’ type,” I reply and she scoffs softly. It sounds a little judgy, but I try not to let it bother me too much. “I moved out recently and I’m an only child, so I can’t really blame them on that one.” _

_ “I’m an only child too,” she tells me softly and I can’t help the curiosity that fills me when I hear the tone of her voice. It sounds sad, lonely.  _

_ “It can be kind of lonely. But my best friend made my childhood a little more exciting,” I say with a smile. I almost feel like Victoria and I are sitting across from each other at a table or something, like we’re on a date. But, in reality, we’re buried deep in our own subconscious space, just her and me. It’s strangely intimate. I can feel things she feels when she opens up. It’s like having two brains at once. Victoria’s brain and mine, weirdly intertwined even though we barely know each other.  _

_ “My best friend does the same, but he’s also kinda nuts,” she says dryly and I try to smile a bit, hoping she can feel it.  _

_ “Mine is too. She once took a gun with her to a junkyard around here and nearly shot herself in the stomach,” I say with a small, nervous laugh.  _

_ “Jesus, she sounds edgy,” Victoria says with a stiff laugh.  _

_ “She’s hella punk,” I reply, relaxing into the slow, gentle conversation we have after that. We talk for a long, long time. I tell her that I love photography and she says she loves it too. We talk about Richard Avidon and how different our styles are. She even teases me for using a polaroid camera instead of digital. But it’s good-natured and it makes my heart flutter.  _

_ Eventually, though, I can feel myself start to wake up.  _

_ “Will I get to see you again?” I ask softly and I feel Victoria start to put her walls back up again. There’s a pause and it hurts a little. She probably still doesn’t actually want to be with me. Which sucks, but I guess it’s what happens to losers like me. Right? _

_ “Yeah, I think so,” she finally says and I relax a little, somehow feeling like my eyes are suddenly wide even though I’m not looking at her. I can’t help wondering what she looks like.  _

_ “Really?” I ask hopefully, unable to keep the emotion out of my voice.  _

_ “Yeah. You’re alright, Max,” she tells me softly and I can’t stop myself from smiling.  _

_ “So are you, Victoria,” I say with a big, stupid grin on my face. I know she probably feels like, just like how I can feel her start to smile.  _

_ “See you around,” she says as the dream space starts to fade.  _

_ “You too,” I reply.  _

And then I’m awake, even though I could’ve stayed in that place forever with her. 

  
  
  


“Do we even have enough money to go camping?” I ask Chloe when she tells me her little plan. 

“Dude, it’s cheap as shit. Plus, it’ll be fun! It’s the end of the semester. Summer is here, Maxipad and you need a weekend by a lake so you can unwind,” the taller girl says as she tosses a kernel of popcorn into her mouth. The front door opens and I hear Kate’s keys jingle as she sets them into the bowl on the entry hall table. 

“My girl!” Chloe says excitedly, dropping the bowl of popcorn into my lap before vaulting over the back of the couch and pulling Kate into a firm, affectionate hug before giving her a kiss that looks much more gentle than the hug. Kate laughs, her face lighting up even though she looks exhausted. 

“Hi, baby. Whatcha guys watching?” She asks, her eyes looking glazed over as though she could fall asleep at any moment.

“Game of Thrones, the world of dragons and incest,” I say as I eat a handful of popcorn. 

“Gross,” Kate replies with a chuckle, still wrapped firmly in Chloe’s arms. “I’m going to bed.”

“I’ll join you,” Chloe says happily, looking all lovesick and dopey. 

“Hey, what about the camping trip?” I ask as I set aside the popcorn. 

“We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight, Super Max,” Chloe calls as her and Kate go to their room. I sigh and lean back against the couch. 

It’s been three months since Victoria and I found each other and all I can do is think about her. She fills my brain like I’m a bucket left out in the rain. Sometimes, I’ll be doing something normal, something that never made me think about soulmates or girls or anything like that, and she’ll pop into my head. I don’t know what she looks like and she doesn’t know what I look like. So when she comes to mind, all I have is her voice, her mannerisms when she speaks, but it’s enough. Enough for me to know I’m in deep.

It’s strange to think that anyone could make me feel this way, but I guess that’s the point. 

She’s my soulmate, after all.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victoria goes camping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my girlfriend for editing this for me and thank you to all of you for your continued love and support! I hope you enjoy some soft, a little more grown-up Victoria.

Victoria’s POV

I’m falling hard and it won’t stop. Everything I do is filled with Max. I breathe her in even though I’ve never really smelled her. Sometimes I can feel her when I inhale a breath of coffee and pancakes when I make breakfast every morning. Other times, I feel her when I put on a particularly comfortable pair of sweatpants before crawling into bed to sleep after a grueling study session. And, sometimes, I swear I can hear her voice in my ear when I’m touching myself, wishing she was with me, pressed as close to me as two people can get. 

And it’s driving me  _ insane _ . All I can do is think about her and remember all of the adorable, lame stuff she talks to me about in our shared place among our dreams. It’s been months. I’m tempted to just ask her for her address and find her, but I don’t want to push her. She’s given me hints, but nothing serious. I want to tell her exactly where I am, what I do, what my schedule is everyday, but… I’m scared. 

I was so cruel to her when we first met and I honestly don’t know why she didn’t just… give up. This whole soulmates thing feels like a fluke ninety percent of the time and I wish I had given her a chance when it started out, but I didn’t. I shut her out and chugged as much coffee as my body could handle so - even if I did sleep - it wasn’t restful enough to fall into the dream space. 

Because I didn’t think I could handle it. 

Max knows so much more about me than almost anyone else I know. Nathan is the only person that could rival her, but even he doesn’t know the deepest parts of my heart the way a soulmate is supposed to. 

My parents aren’t soulmates. Neither were there parents. Because soulmates aren’t matched to you based on status and what the person does for a living. Max works as a photographer’s assistant part time and then at some coffee shop the rest of the time. Which is adorable, but not exactly a business that rakes in the cash. 

Not that that matters to me as much as my parents wish it did. If it did, I would’ve told her so. I would’ve been much more brutal. But something about her just… undoes me. 

She’s soft and kind and her voice is as sweet as honey to the parts of me that are starved for affirmation. She calls me beautiful, even though she’s never seen me. She cares about me even though we’ve never really met. It’s surreal and I love it. 

But I haven’t told anyone about her except for Nathan and Taylor. So when Taylor is sitting across from me with her Starbucks in hand, sipping it as she scrolls through her phone, I don’t mind daydreaming to myself. I scribble softly in my notebook, completely ignoring the complex equations I should be solving in favor of remembering how it felt when Max “held my hand” and told me that, when I was ready, she would find me. 

“There’s no pressure,” she’d told me so softly that it almost felt like I was hearing her thoughts instead of her words. “If you meet me and I’m not your type, that’s ok. But I care about you, Victoria. I want to meet you, but I won’t force you into any of this.” 

I sigh at the memory and look up from my notebook, wondering if this is really a good thing. Max is everything that a person wants in their soulmate. She’s not shady or weird - at least not in a creepy way - and she isn’t obsessed with finding you no matter what you say or do. 

She’s patient and kind and she always tells me something about her before I tell her something about me because she knows I hate being vulnerable. I even told her that I wear contacts, which is something almost no one knows. It seems so silly now that she knows, almost like letting her know shows me that - as much as it matters to me - being constantly perfect is something that few people see as a valid use of time and a good reason to constantly stress out. 

“How do you feel about going camping this weekend?” Taylor asks me and I nearly jump, being abruptly pulled from my thoughts. 

“What?” I ask sharply, irritated that I’m no longer soaking in daydreams. 

“Do you want to go camping this weekend? There’s tons of other students going so it’s going to be a major party zone by the lake,” the other blond explains and I furrow my brows, opening my mouth so say “fuck no,” but I stop myself. 

Something deep in my gut feels like it’s pulling me in the direction of the lake itself. That’s what it feels like, anyway. 

“Sure,” I say without thinking, pulling out my phone and starting the preparations right away. “I’ll order the shit we need. Send me the link to the campground website.” 

“Uh… ok?” Taylor says slowly, her brows knit together as she gives me a look that makes me feel like I’m being examined under a microscope. “Are you sure? I kind of didn’t expect you to say yes.”

“Who doesn’t love tanning and drinking?” I ask as if that’s a good enough answer. My friend doesn’t push me, shrugging as she types away on her phone. 

I’m not sure why I so vicerely want to go. Camping isn’t normally something I  _ want _ to do. It’s dirty, too cold or too hot, and almost no fun. At least the past few times I’ve gone it hasn’t been fun. But maybe that’s because it’s always been with my parents trying to force family time that none of us want. 

But this will be different. I know it. Somehow, deep in my gut, I know this is going to be different. I just wish I knew why. 

  
  
  


I’m anxiety ridden for the next two days. I can barely sleep because I have three tests to cram for and I don’t get far enough into REM sleep to enter the dream space. 

So when Taylor, Nathan, Courtney and I pile into my car with many of our supplies already sent ahead to the campsite, I’m irritable at best. 

The drive is only an hour, but it feels like an eternity, especially when Nathan starts arguing with Courtney about who’s Trig class is harder. It takes all my self control not to scream at every one to shut the fuck up and just let me think for five damn minutes. 

But I don’t. Because I’m trying to be better. I’m trying to be a better friend and it’s difficult. Ever since high school ended, I’ve just been trying to be a better person. But how the hell am I supposed to be a better person when Taylor is talking so fucking loud? 

By the time we get to the campsite, I’m ready to lose it. We get out and start setting up the tent and everything and, about half way through, I’m fuming. 

“Vic, are you-”

“Stop. I’ll be back,” I snap, tossing my sleeping bag into the tent and stalking off, taking slow, deep breaths. The fresh air helps, but the bugs almost cancel that out. I walk to the lake, sighing when the water comes into view and the sweet, soft breeze flows over my skin. I sigh and find a rock, brushing it off gingerly before sitting down. I’m probably going to get dust on my shorts, but that’s ok. I watch the sunlight shimmer off of the glassy surface of the lake. It turns the green water gold and I chide myself for not bringing my camera. Nature isn’t usually my thing, but this place is beautiful. 

Max would love it here. I know she would. I can just imagine her soft voice whispering about how serene it is. 

_ I wonder if she’s thinking about me.  _ I smile at the thought, balancing my elbow on my knee, my chin in my palm as I stare off at the bright green forest that covers the mountains. I can’t help imagining bringing her here and watching the water with her. I wish I knew what she looked like. I’d be able to look for her. But I’ve been scared to find her because… Well, I’m honestly not good enough. 

She’s so generous and selfless and kind and gentle with me and I’m just too broken. Too ambitious, too self-assured and hot-headed. I’m not nice enough or soft enough. She seems like she would need someone like that. 

I can’t help wondering who thought it was a good idea to make us soulmates. We’re almost nothing alike. But something about her… I can’t quite place it. 

I don’t notice that there’s someone near me until I hear an all too familiar sound. 

A camera shutter and then a polaroid sliding out of a camera. I turn to the noise, my heart skipping a beat. 

A chestnut haired girl is standing by the edge of the water, her limbs lanky and thin as she stares at the shimmering water. She hasn’t seen me because she looks relaxed, like she thinks she’s alone. Something inside me makes my stomach flip. I feel like I can’t breathe because my heart is hammering too hard against my ribs. 

All I can do is stare at her. Her freckle-covered cheeks, her bare, equally freckle-covered shoulders. The way her bangs hang in her face as the breeze tugs at her hair and clothes ever so slightly. And then she turns to me and I go completely still, the only thing I can hear is my heart slamming in my ears. 

Grey eyes meet mine and my mouth falls open to speak as flashes of the dream space flicker behind my eyes. A soft voice, gentle energy, the feeling of her fingers intertwined with mine even though it’s not real. 

“Victoria?” She says softly, smiling at me with wide, excited eyes. I clench my fists over my thighs, my heart slamming against my insides like crazy. 

“M-Max,” I whisper and she smiles even more, walking over to me. I stand as she gets closer to me and I nearly jump her before she stops, hesitating for a moment. 

“Hi, I… Can I hug you?” She asks me and I can’t help how my lips spread in a smile. I don’t bother holding back. I wrap my arms around her so tightly that she gasps and grunts playfully, holding me as tightly as I’m holding her. 

“I didn’t expect to meet you here,” she says with a laugh, holding me like we’ve been together for years. And I don’t mind it in the slightest. I laugh with her and hold her tightly against me, not wanting to ever let her go. This is the first time I’ve ever felt this warm, this safe. Even our dream space doesn’t compare to the feeling of being wrapped in my soulmate’s arms. 

“I’d be offended, but this isn’t really my scene,” I tell her and she smiles, pulling out of the hug to look into my eyes. I stare deeply into those ocean grey eyes, letting myself get lost in the emotion I see there. “You’re so beautiful.” I don’t know how it escapes my lips and it makes me blush, but I can’t look away. I feel like I’m holding my other half against my heart and I never want to loosen my grasp. 

“Are you joking? You’re so out of my league it’s not even funny,” she laughs out as she reaches up to stroke my cheek with her knuckles. I melt, smiling so big it hurts. I turn my head and kiss her palm, grabbing her wrist gently. I’ve never done anything like this, never felt so vulnerable but secure all at once. 

“Stop it,” I scold her gently, kissing the inside of her wrist. “You’re perfect. Better than I ever imagined.” I want to kiss her. I want to lean down the couple inches I have on her and press my lips against hers until we’re both blushing and breathless. 

She seems to read my mind because I see her eyes flick down to my lips. So I do what I’ve been wanting to do since the first time I heard that soft, sweet voice in the dark. I kiss her and she tenses up before melting and kissing me back in an adorably clumsy way. It’s endearing and I can’t help the thrill that runs through me at the idea that I’ll be able to teach this beautiful woman how to kiss me like she means it. 

We stay like that for a while. We sit and talk like we would in our special place, only this time, my soulmate is beside me for real. Her head on my shoulder, her breath on my neck as she tells me all about anything and everything. 

Having a soulmate might not be so bad after all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and have an awesome day!


End file.
